Campaigners 'devastated' over incinerator ruling

Campaigners have said they are "devastated" after losing a court case against the decision to build an incinerator near Dorset's Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

The High Court has dismissed an appeal for a statutory review into Powerfuel Portland's £150m waste incinerator planning application, which was given the go-ahead by the government in September, despite initially being refused by Dorset Council.

The decision comes after a two-day hearing in March.

The Stop Portland Waste Incinerator (SPWI) group said taking the matter to the Court of Appeal was its "one final chance".

The group's request for a statutory review was upheld on the grounds the Secretary of State's decision "does not satisfy" Dorset Council's Waste Plan.

But Debbie Tulett, who heads up the campaign, described news of the latest decision as "devastating".

"I am very disappointed that the judge was unable to see that the planned waste incinerator does not comply with our county's waste plan," she said.

"We do have one final chance left on the legal challenge side of things and that is to try and get our case heard at the Court of Appeal."

Ms Tullett said she believed the majority of those who were opposed to the incinerator "would like us to fight to the bitter end".

She said after "nearly six years of full-time fighting against the waste incinerator, I am not ready to throw in the towel yet".

Olympic sailor and Portland resident Laura Baldwin, who is also campaigning against the plans, described the decision as "deeply upsetting".

"It is clear that it is no longer a financially attractive investment with the upcoming inclusion in the emissions trading scheme making it very much more expensive to burn waste," she said.

While Olympic champion Ellie Aldridge said "no-one will want to train" at the National Sailing Academy if an incinerator was built nearby.

The Environment Agency (EA) granted Powerfuel Portland an environmental permit for the incinerator in February after concluding it had met all of its necessary criteria.

At the time Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland called the announcement "extremely disappointing".

He said the incinerator would be "throwing out nitrous dioxide, sulphur dioxide, arsenic, nickel, chromium" into the atmosphere, below the top of the island and opposite the beach, and harm the area's tourism industry.

But Powerfuel Portland said the facility would have the capacity to process up to 202,000 tonnes of waste per year and create enough energy to power about 30,000 homes.

It said hazardous or clinical waste would not be burned.

Portland Port previously said the power plant was "vital to this port's future" by allowing it to offer shore power to docked cruise ships.

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